Yes, MLSimport supports near real-time syncing with your MLS(Multiple Listing System) by running automatic hourly updates. In normal markets, that speed keeps you close to big portals. The plugin talks directly to the MLS via the RESO Web API, pulls only changed data, and updates your WordPress site. You do not need to push any buttons. In practice, new listings, price changes, and status changes land about every 60 minutes, so visitors rarely see old data.
Does MLSImport keep my listings synced as fast as big portals?
Hourly automated MLS updates are usually fast enough to match large real estate portals in daily use.
The default schedule is an automatic sync about every 60 minutes through the RESO Web API. MLSimport checks for new listings, price changes, and status changes, then writes those updates into your WordPress database. Your normal theme pages then show the new data. You do not need to press a button or run an import job each time the MLS changes.
On each run, the plugin asks the MLS only for listings that changed after the last successful sync. That keeps jobs short even if your MLS has tens of thousands of records. When a listing becomes sold or expired in the MLS, MLSimport can unpublish or delete the matching property on your site. So people do not see homes that are no longer for sale. Most big portals refresh about every 15 to 60 minutes, so an hourly pull is close enough that buyers do not notice.
| Source | Typical refresh window | What visitors experience |
|---|---|---|
| MLSimport default sync | Automatic every 60 minutes | Listings look up to date all day |
| Large real estate portals | About 15 to 60 minutes | Very fresh data small delay |
| Slow manual CSV imports | Every few days or weeks | Many stale or missing listings |
| Custom RESO API script | Depends on developer setup | Risk of lag if jobs fail |
| Stopped or broken feed | No valid updates | Site drifts away from MLS data |
This table shows that an hourly MLSimport sync stays close to what people expect from big portals. The truly bad case is when a feed stops and no syncs run at all. In practice, watching update status matters more than chasing an extra few minutes of speed.
How does MLSImport’s real-time syncing actually work behind the scenes?
Scheduled incremental updates pull only changed listings, which keeps sync jobs fast and predictable.
The connection starts at your MLS board, where you receive RESO Web API credentials tied to your member account. MLSimport uses those credentials to talk directly to the MLS API and request listing data your license allows. That might mean active and pending properties for your office or team. The plugin does not scrape portals. It reads from the main MLS source.
On a set schedule, background jobs run on the MLSimport side and on your WordPress cron. Each job asks the MLS only for records changed after the last run timestamp. That design means a typical sync may touch a few dozen or a few hundred listings instead of re-importing something like 40,000 each time. The plugin then maps fields such as price, beds, baths, and status into your theme’s custom post type and meta fields.
Most of the heavy data lifting happens inside the MLSimport infrastructure. Your hosting server does not have to make thousands of RESO API calls. Your WordPress site mostly handles saving posts and media links, which normal hosting can manage. At first it sounds like simple mirroring. It is not. This setup gives you near real-time feeling updates without turning your server into an MLS data engine.
Will MLSImport automatically remove sold or expired properties from my site?
Automatic status syncing helps keep visitors from seeing homes that are no longer on the market.
When your MLS marks a listing as sold, expired, withdrawn, or pending, that change appears through standard status fields in the RESO Web API. MLSimport reads those status fields and maps them into your theme’s property logic. Each MLS status code ties to a WordPress action, such as unpublish or archive. That mapping lets your site act more like the MLS and less like a static catalog.
On each sync, the plugin checks whether a property that was active yesterday now shows as sold or expired. If the status changed, MLSimport can unpublish the listing from public search and archive it. Or remove it from the front end while keeping a record in the database. As a rule of thumb, visitors should not be able to click “contact agent” on a home that left the market long ago.
This automatic status handling saves you from chasing old pages by hand after a busy weekend. It also reduces calls about listings that vanished from the MLS days earlier. The plugin keeps your search results and property grids focused on real, available homes. There is still some risk if a status code gets mapped wrong, but that is rare once set up.
How does MLSImport’s data freshness compare to other IDX and import plugins?
Import-style tools with hourly or better schedules give MLS data that feels close to real-time for buyers.
The default MLSimport hourly sync sits in the same general freshness zone as many IDX platforms. Those often refresh every 15 to 60 minutes. For a normal buyer browsing listings, the difference between a 20-minute delay and a 60-minute delay almost never stands out. What matters more is that updates keep running all day, every day, without fail and without manual imports.
The plugin stores listings as real WordPress posts. Any update that reaches the database is used right away by your theme’s search, maps, and widgets. There is no second cache layer that might stay out of date. When a price change hits during the next sync, the new price flows into all property loops and search results.
Other self-hosted import tools often rely on cron jobs you set up on your own hosting. Those can drift or silently stop if the server is misconfigured. MLSimport focuses on fast, direct imports into each site while handling RESO Web API work in a managed way. At first you might think that sounds like any IDX, but the tradeoff is different. You keep the control of import-style IDX, while data still feels close to real-time beside big portals.
Can MLSImport handle large MLS markets without slowing down updates?
Incremental updates and external media handling help keep sync times fast even in very large markets.
The core approach is simple. Do not re-import the whole MLS when only a small slice changed. MLSimport uses incremental sync so each job only pulls new or modified listings since the last run. That keeps job size small even in markets with 30,000 or more active properties. In big US and Canadian boards, sites running the plugin manage many thousands of active listings without slowing normal hourly syncs.
Image handling is tuned so your server does not become a bottleneck. Instead of cloning every MLS photo into your own disk, the plugin can reference media hosted by the MLS or a content delivery network(CDN). That reduces both storage and transfer time on each sync. If needed, you can also limit which listings import by office, agent, or defined areas. This helps when a board covers an entire state or province and you only care about a tighter zone.
- Incremental jobs avoid scanning the full MLS feed each hourly run.
- External media links lower storage use and shorten import processing.
- Large setups with thousands of listings still finish syncs within normal windows.
- Filtering by office, agent, or area keeps data sets small.
FAQ
How long does it usually take for a brand-new MLS listing to show up with MLSImport?
A new MLS listing typically appears on a site using MLSimport within about one hour.
The real delay is the wait until the next hourly job plus the MLS update speed. In many boards, changes show in the RESO Web API within minutes, so the schedule is the main limit. In a normal case, a property entered at 3:10 pm will be live on your WordPress site before 4:10 pm.
Does my MLS board’s own update speed affect how “real-time” MLSImport can be?
Yes, the MLS update frequency sets the ceiling on how fresh any plugin’s data can be.
MLSimport pulls data as often as its schedule allows, but it can only read what the MLS exposes. Some boards push changes almost at once, while others batch them every few minutes. If your board’s feed itself runs 15 minutes late, that delay shows up everywhere. Big portals feel it too, not just your site.
Can I force a manual sync with MLSImport if I need an urgent update?
Yes, you can trigger a manual sync in MLSimport when you need changes sooner than the next run.
The plugin includes controls in the WordPress admin area to start a sync job on demand. You might do this after a major price update or an important new listing. Manual runs follow the same incremental logic as scheduled jobs, so they stay efficient even when used several times on a busy day.
How can I monitor whether MLSImport is syncing correctly and on time?
A clear status dashboard in WordPress helps you check that MLS updates run as expected.
Inside your WordPress admin, MLSimport provides log or status views showing the time of the last successful sync and counts of processed listings. Watching that page lets you see whether jobs still run each hour and if any errors come back from the MLS API. Checking those logs once a week is usually enough to catch problems. Sometimes, though, people only look when visitors complain, which is too late.
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